The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Lehman.

Promises and limitations of the personalized care movement.

Where we are now.

Several years ago, I gave my take on the personalized care movement,

the broad push to use a person's genetic data to design optimal therapies, treatments,

interventions, and pharmaceuticals. I was supportive and hesitantly optimistic, but I also acknowledged the

limitations and drawbacks. Yes, genetics do determine how we respond to different therapies,

and we can optimize medical care using the information if we understand what our genes are saying

and how they interact with the environment.

It's only picked up steam.

In last year's State of the Union address, President Obama announced the Precision Medicine Initiative,

pledging renewed efforts and funding to develop treatments tailored for an individual's genetics,

lifestyle, and environment.

Businesses have sprung up promising to analyze your genetic data and create personalized

workout routines, meal plans, and daily habits. We've made big strides in personalized medicine.

We're often able to fine-tune dosages of pharmaceuticals to avoid overdosing

people with genetic sensitivities and underdosing people with genetic resistance.

It's not exactly easy or fast, but it is possible.

Researchers have identified genetic variants that increase statin-induced muscle damage.

Doctors are choosing antidepressants based on a patient's genetics, pharmacogenomics,

and seeing a 53% improvement in reduction of depressive symptoms.

They're also using genetics to predict non-responding patients.

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